The Other Half
by Meredith Sinclair
Summary: A powerful new Starfleet weapon has been destroyed, but why? What secrets is a high ranking officer hiding? What lengths will he go to to ensure the Federation's existence?


**A/N - Sorry about the spelling on this! I ran a spell check, but must not have saved after. I will upload a corrected version later today!**

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The doors slid open as Kirk approached them and he stepped into the observation lounge and looked around. There were about 50 of Starfleet's most senior officers present, and he was probably the lowest ranking in the room. He sighed inwardly, put off at the prospect of being shown off like a favored pet once again.

Admiral Lawrence Dunbarr waved to Kirk from the other side of the room. Since Pike's death and Kirk's triumph over Kahn, Dunbarr had decided that he would be Kirk's new mentor. Dunbarr had his eye on the Fleet Admiral position and thought that having the most celebrated officer in Starfleet as his protégé would speed his promotion along.

Kirk didn't care too much for the admiral. He had too much slick politician in him for Kirk to feel comfortable in his presence. But, since Admiral Marcus had gone rogue warrior so spectacularly, this smooth talking political class of officer was just to Starfleet's liking these days. Kirk waved back to the admiral, grabbed a drink from a waiter carrying a tray and made his way over to Dunbarr.

"Exciting day, isn't it, Kirk?" Dunbarr asked, slightly emphasizing Kirk's name and looking around at the other officers so they would hear the name-drop.

"Yes sir" Kirk said, the fake smile he usually wore around the admiral stretching his face. Word around the Jupiter station was that Dunbarr was hosting this gathering to show a demonstration of a new weapon in Starfleet's arsenal.

A rear admiral Kirk did not recognize asked him, "So, Captain Kirk, what do you think of the new weapon system?"

As the protégé, the other officers must think that he had more insider knowledge than he did. However, Dunbarr's relationship with Kirk was mostly for show. He had no more of the Admiral's confidences than a galley cook on the station did.

"If Admiral Dunbarr has had anything to do with it, I am sure it will be spectacular" Kirk replied, the politically correct words almost choking him. He took a big gulp of his drink and asked to be excused from the group. He sat near the bar, trying to blend in with the furniture.

Soon, Admiral Dunbarr stood in front of the observation room's viewing window. The window was a floor to ceiling observation panel and covered an entire wall of the room. It was currently covered. The admiral asked for the room's attention and the assembly fell silent.

"Comrades" he began. "As you know, the recent encounter with the Klingon home world did not improve diplomatic relations with the Klingon High Command. The regrettable deaths of the Klingon warriors at the hands of John Harrison inflamed tempers on both sides. It is becoming more apparent each day that the war with the Klingon Empire is inevitable. Starfleet needs to continue our transition from an exploratory mission to a warfighting mission. Today's demonstration will take us one step further in that transition."

A projection now appeared on the viewing screen behind the admiral. It was the schematic drawing of what looked like a Starfleet shuttle craft. Kirk could see from the schematics that this craft had some significant design changes.

"This is a combat fighter-craft" Dunbarr told the group. "It is based on the standard Starfleet shuttlecraft design so it can be used with both our battle retrofitted starships and our newly built warships. It has advanced maneuvering capability and weapons systems. It can move quickly around other larger ships and can provide both offensive and defensive capabilities. We are gathered here today for a demonstration of this combat fighters capabilities. Lt Commander Cedeno, can you hear me?" the admiral asked.

A voice came back over the comm system, "Loud and clear sir".

The admiral spoke again. "Lt Cmdr. Cedeno will be piloting the craft for today's demonstration. The combat fighter can be piloted solo, or can be crewed with 3 people. Viewer on please." The projected wall disappeared and the observation window opened to a view of the stars and 3 of Jupiter's smaller moons were visible. "Commander Cedeno, you may commence your run" Dunbarr gave the command.

"Yes sir" came the reply. Kirk stood and found a seat closer to the viewer, next to the admiral. He was very interested in this new technology and wanted to get a good idea of what it could do.

"How long has this been in development?" he whispered to the admiral.

"We began designing it at the same time as the Dreadnoughts" replied the admiral. "They have taken longer to complete because Starfleet insisted on the explorer-class compatibility half way through the project."

Kirk nodded and watched the demonstration. The fighter craft went through a series of complex maneuvers incredibly fast, showing its speed and agility. It then fired smaller grade phaser weapons systems at dummy targets that were launched from the orbiting space station. Kirk was impressed with the craft's ability for highly accurate firing at high speeds. Admiral Dunbarr leaned over to Kirk and said "Here comes the real show. He's going to fire the advanced weapon system. It's a laser guided photon torpedo."

Kirk leaned forward to get a good look at this. A photon torpedo delivered with laser guided precision at a range as close as this craft promised could be a devastating blow to almost any ship. He saw the laser paint the target, then the craft exploded in a shower of debris and sparks.

The room gave a collected gasp, then exploded with shouts.  
"What the hell just happened?"

"Is it supposed to do that?"

Admiral Dunbarr tried to raise Lt Cdr. Cedeno over the comm system but there was no reply.

"Control, this is Dunbarr, what in the hell just happened? I can't raise Cedeno!"

The officer on the control deck answered, "I don't know what happened sir! I think Commander Cedeno is gone."

The admiral began barking orders. "I want an investigation team assembled in my conference room now!" He stormed out of the room and Kirk followed. As much as he hated being seen as Dumbarr's lapdog, he wanted to find out what happened to that fighter craft.

Three hours later the investigation team was assembled and were combing over the schematics of the fighter with the engineering team that built it. There was another team poring over the data that had been transmitted from the ship during its flight. Kirk had nothing to add to the investigation, so he sat in a chair off the side, quietly observing. Dunbarr finally noticed him.

"Kirk, go back to your quarters and get some sleep. This is all going to be boring data processing tonight. We won't have any answers until tomorrow anyway. Report to my office at 0900 hours."

Kirk wanted to protest, he wanted to see all the data, hear all the discussions, but knew better than to argue with a superior officer.

"Yes sir. Goodnight sir" he replied and went to his quarters.

Kirk woke the next morning with his mind still spinning with thoughts about the incident. He reported to Admiral Dunbarr's office at 0900 as instructed.

"Kirk, come in" Dunbarr said.

"Sir, any word on the cause of the explosion?" Kirk asked.

"Not yet. We went over a few schematic and construction and maintenaince records and nothing stands out so far. Of course, with a vehicle this complex, the investigation will take quite a while. But there is someone we can talk to to try to get some answers."

"Who's that sir?" Kirk asked.

"The engineer who designed the thing" Dunbarr replied.

"The engineer, sir?" Kirk asked. "Wasn't he there last night?" Kirk wondered if the chief design engineer hadnt been at the test run, he would have definitely been called in for the investigation. Even if he wasn't on station, he would have been consulted wherever he was.

"No" was Dunbarr's only reply. "Come with me."

Kirk followed Dunbarr to his personal turbolift. "Sublevel Delta" Dunbarr commanded the lift.

The computer responded,"Sublevel Delta is a restricted area. Please identify for access"

Dunbarr gave the computer his name and access code.

"Access granted" was the computers reply and the turbolift began it's smooth descent.

Kirk was throughly confused. Why did they have to go to a restricetd area to speak to this engineer?If he wasn't on station, Dunbarr had secure comms in his office. Any classified discussion could have been held at his desk. But he held his questions for now.

The lift stopped and the doors opened to a short, stark white hallway. Ther were near the heart of the space station and besides the soft purr of it's power systems, the level was silent. Dunbarr approached the single door in the hallway, twenty feet opposite the turbolift door. He spoke his name and access code again into the panel beside the door. The door slid open. It was a small brig. There were two guards, one standing beside the door, one seated at a desk facing the solitary cell in the wing. Both guards were armed with phasers unholstered, at the ready. Whoever this prisoner was, he was dangerous. But why were they in this brig when they needed to speak to an engineer? Kirk wondered. What was going on here?

"Why don't you two take a break?" Dunbarr told the guards. They both replied "Yes sir" and left the room.

Kirk and Dunbarr apporached the single cell. Kirk could hear the slight humming of the transparant forcefield that made up the barrier between them and the cell. Then he saw the cell's occupant. He was seated at a desk facing the wall opposite the force field. He appeared to be reading something on the desk. He had very long, straight black hair. Kirk wondered how long he had been prisoner here to have grown his hair that long. Dunbarr spoke to the prisoner, "I need to speak with you!"

The prisoner simply raised his right hand with his index finger extended, as if to say, "One minute" and continued reading.

"NOW!" Dunbarr barked. He was not used to being brushed off.

Slowly, the prisoner picked up a small piece of paper from the desk, used it as a bookmark, and closed the book. A real book, Kirk thought, not an info pad. This was getting stranger by the minute. The prisoner slid his chair back from the desk and stood. He moved slowly and gracefully . The prisoner turned to face them and things got even odder. He was a she. Her long black hair was swept back from her forehead. Her skin was smooth and appeared ageless. She had high, sharp cheekbones and striking green eyes. It was the eyes that got Kirk. They looked vaguely familiar. She approached the forcefield to speak to them.

"Admiral Dunbarr" she said. Her voice was low pitched and slightly husky, as if she hadn't spoken in a long time. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" she asked, managing to sound pleasant and sarcastic at the same time. She turned and faced Kirk "And you have brought a guest. How nice to see a new face. A pleasure to meet you Captian…." she said, waiting for Kirk to introduce himself.

"Kirk" he said in a slightly squeaky voice. He cleared his throat and tried again. "Jim Kirk"

The woman's eyes lit up and she smiled slightly and addressed the admiral again. "Oh, my Admiral Dunbarr. You've brought me Captain Kirk" she said in an amazed, quiet voice.

"Do I know you?" Kirk asked.

"Oh, no" she replied. "But your reputation has proceeded you."

"Let's cut the chatter" Dunbarr said. "You know why we're here"

"Admiral, I'm afraid I don't" she replied with a tone that let them know that she in fact knew exactly why they were there, but she wanted to play.

Dunbarr indulged her slightly. "The combat fighter" he said.

"Oh, yes. My pet project" she said, with a hint of a smile playing around her eyes and lips. "Have you reached the test run phase yet?"

"Yes, we have. Yesterday" Dunbarr said.

"Well, then admiral, I suppose I know exactly why you are here" she said.

Kirk tuned to Dunbarr, "Who is she?" he asked.


End file.
